110 Rebels

Captain Malik sat in his guard station, calmly smoking his pipe with his legs on the table in front of him, his hands behind his head, forming a perfect cushion that he had come to love over all the years he had spent in this very spot, in this very role.

Five guards bustled around him, taking care of their day-to-day duties, but all he needed to do was make sure that the oiled system he had set in place would keep turning, without fail, without a pause, without a hint of trouble. He was proud of everything he had done for his king, and his home. In just a week, he could retire with all the honor of someone who had saved the people he was going to live beside so many times that many had lost count…and if he was being frank, even though he kept acting as if he didn't want to leave, he was really looking forward to a calm, respected life in the suburbs of the beach island.